The Crucible of Trier in Seven Parts
by rookanga
Summary: Trier, 1587- Prussia is taken rudely from bed and accused of being a witch, so the townspeople burn him at stake. Unfortunately for everyone, except for the townspeople's consciences, he can't die. Based on historical events, but in no way something you should be basing a research paper on. Title taken from The Crucible by Arthur Miller.


_Trier, 1587_

_Part One: Love_

Prussia loves his citizens, as all nations do. He may be viewed as a brash, uncaring, militant leader who loves obedience above all else, but that is not true. He loves his people above all else.

Even as Prussia is taken in the morning by his own people, who grip his arm so strongly their fingers are sure to leave bruises, taken to his church, forced to his knees in front of everyone in town, and screamed at by his citizen to confess, _confess_, Prussia loves them. How can he not? How could he ever not?

They call him_ D__ä__mon_, Demon, the work of the Devil. Not only this, but they take his Iron Cross, a leftover relic of his days as The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem. They say he does not deserve to wear a symbol of the Catholic faith. Is he not allowed even this? Even his past? Even his religion?

If his citizens don't will it, he can't.

Prussia is not the only one accused, but his citizens are by far the most afraid of him. With his red eyes, he does look as if he is a demon.

He wants to fight back, but he loves his citizens too much.

Prussia is sentenced to be burned at stake, along with two Protestants and a Jew.

The Archbishop speaks of "cleansing." Protestants, Jews, and Witches are a disease on the Diocese of Trier, one that must be purged from society.

The Archbishop is one of Prussia's citizens. Prussia loves him. But he also loves the Protestants and the Jew.

_Stop, stop_, he cries. _This isn't right! This is not the land I want to be!_

He is dragged away immediately, along with the Protestants and the Jew.

_Trier, 1587_

_Part Two: Anger_

He is dragged away with the Protestants and the Jew.

This room they are in, this wall they are chained to, Prussia didn't even know places such as these existed in his land.

He was being naïve. His people are not saints. Humans rarely are.

Torture. That is his punishment for speaking out against the archbishop. He is strangled to the point of near-death, if Prussia could die. But they want him alive. They want him to burn.

This makes Prussia annoyed. Very annoyed. He'd much rather avoid pain if he could help it, but he still cares for his citizens.

Until he sees what they do to the Protestant and the Jew.

Prussia's own citizens have them chained. They press hot pokers to their skin. All because of what the Demon said.

Fury. That is all Prussia feels. There is guilt too, but he buries that to be taken out and examined at a later time. First the anger, then the regret.

Prussia rips his hands out of the chains, punching and kicking the Protestants' and the Jew's torturers out of the way, only to be grabbed back.

The Protestants and the Jew are taken away.

_Trier, 1587_

_Part Three: Hatred_

_The sun laughs at its set in thy life, Demon, _one of the men says.

Prussia lifts his head, glares defiantly at the men. Who are they to kill people because of religion or some nonexistent affiliation with the occult?

_I hate you_. He spits at the men. The one who spoke punches him in the gut.

Prussia doubles over, spitting blood at the ground as the men carry him away.

He is tied to the stake, along with the Protestants and the Jew.

The Archbishop sets it on fire.

Pain. It roars to life with the fire, and as the fire grows so does his hatred. He watches the Protestants and the Jews scream and writhe in their bindings, and his hate grows.

_Trier, 1587_

_Part Four: Grief_

He is all but destroyed. He must be dead. He can't bring himself to care. His people have killed his people. Since when is that a facet of civilization?

Since never, that's when.

Of course, what makes Prussia sadder about this is the fact that the people who are doing the killing don't consider it wrong. They believe that killing Protestants, Jews and "witches" is righteous in the eyes of God. And-and their country. The red-eyed demon himself.

So as Prussia feels the remains of his body being pushed none-to-carefully out of the ashes from the burnt wood, and the lonely feeling of his citizens turning away, leaving to go home, afraid of being the next victim, but relieved it isn't them this time, he is filled with the need to cry so strong he worries he actually will.

But his tear ducts are burned away.

_Trier, 1590_

_Part Five: Despair_

Three years. It has been three years since that first day. Imagine the Archbishop's and the townspeople's surprise when they found that he wasn't dead. He doesn't have to imagine. He knows.

Why couldn't he have died that day? Or any day after it? Why was he forced to endure repeated attempts at his life, all the while watching innocent people suffer?

God is cruel.

Prussia laughs out loud to no one. He remembers when they took away his Iron Cross. He'd felt so betrayed. Yet for some reason he hadn't fought. He'd still had strength and reason to live back then. Why hadn't he done something against them?

He knows it's futile. He's tried enough times to know that. But there's nothing left in this world for him but to beg for death.

_God_, he cries, his voice breaking as if the crests of two waves, a laugh and a sob, crash into each other, _give me death. I don't care anymore. I just want to die._

Hands wrap around him, but between the tears that had begun flowing, though he hadn't noticed, and the fractured focus of the mad, he can't see who it is. And he doesn't care.

_Königsberg, 1590_

_Part Six: Confusion_

Prussia does not have a first thought when he wakes up. At least not a tangible one. Instead, his head feels heavy and tired. Too tired to think.

But think he does. There's too much to be curious about. Where is he now? He was last in…?

Trier. That was it. The witch hunt. Prussia recalls what has happened over the past three years, but he doesn't know if it was even real.

He tries to stand, but feels dizzy immediately upon sitting up. He feels strange. He feels weak. He has never felt this way before. So…so helpless.

He flops onto his back again, but the suddenness of the bed jars his back and neck, and pain rushes through his body. He does his best not to cry out.

_Germany's Basement, 2013_

_Part Seven: Realization_

"_Bruder! Bruder! _What were you doing last night? You're dead to the world right now. _Bruder!_"

Germany shakes Prussia awake, accidentally ripping the cord attaching the Iron Cross to Prussia's neck as the albino falls to the ground.

"I'll go with you, but I won't confess!" Prussia shouts.

Germany lets go of Prussia's shoulders and takes a surprised step back. "What?"

Prussia gives his brother a blank look. "What?"

"What did you say?"

Germany receives only another confused glance. "West, I think you're imagining things."

"Okay," Germany acquiesces doubtfully. "Well, I'll be going out with Italy today, so do try not to destroy the house."

Prussia gives an exaggerated sigh. "When has that ever happened?"

"Whatever." Germany starts toward the stairs. "I'm going now."

"Okay. Bye." Prussia grins at his brother. As soon as Germany is up the stairs, Prussia races after him as quietly as he can, and watches out the window until he's sure Germany is gone.

He isn't even sure why he doesn't want Germany present for this. It's not like it's a secret or anything. But still…something all but forgotten for over four hundred years is rather personal.

Germany's laptop is charging on the small table that serves as the place to charge electronic devices. Prussia opens it and pulls up Google. He types, _trier witch_, and sure enough comes across links for information about this.

Half an hour later, Prussia is done researching. Yep. That's it. Strange that he never thought about it much since. He still doesn't know who saved him, but he's glad he or she did.

Clicking out of the browser, Prussia notices that the wallpaper is a photograph of he and Germany and Italy. Germany, in the middle, is expressionless, as usual; Italy is hugging Germany around the waist and Prussia is wearing his brother's green cap backwards over his white hair, has his tongue sticking out, and is giving Germany bunny ears.

He's looking pretty damn awesome.

**Ahh! Finished! So the Trier Witch Trials may or may not have been the witch hunt with the most casualties in Europe. So when this guy, Johann von Schönenberg, became archbishop of the diocese of Trier, he got this idea in his head that he needed to "cleanse" Trier or whatever by mass-executing first Protestants and Jews, and then so-called witches. A diocese, by the way, is like the surrounding rural area around a city. We don't have them so much now, or they at least aren't called dioceses anymore.**

**The reason I didn't include who saved Prussia is because I know you readers would look for a pairing, and that's not what this story is about. **

** Also, I have a poll up on my profile about Prussia pairings for a USUK story I'm writing. I can't continue writing it until I get votes, so vote right now!**

** I don't own Hetalia, and review please.**


End file.
